Concerned agencies are looking for the body of a woman who died after a botched cosmetic surgery at a Hanoi-based beauty salon. Her doctor threw her body into the Hong (Red) River after her death.

>> Vietnamese doctor throws customer's body into river

At 7:00 this morning, the victim’s body had not been found and rescuers and the victim’s relatives are continuing their search.   The victim is Le Thi Thanh Huyen, 37, who lived at 36 Hang Thiec Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi.  The doctor is Nguyen Manh Tuong, 40, the owner of Cat Tuong beauty salon in Hanoi, who was arrested on Tuesday on murder charges. Tuong is a doctor at the Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi, one of the most well-known hospitals in Vietnam.  After hearing that Tuong had thrown Huyen’s body into the river, the victim’s relatives hired motorboats to search for her body on the river.

Pham Duc Quang, 53, the victim’s uncle, told Tuoi Tre in tears, “Huyen is a very good-natured woman. On October 19, she said she took her son to school and was going to a beauty salon, but she did not return.

T, Huyen’s sister, said, “In the late evening of October 19, a man called her husband to say that her motorbike and handbag had been found on a street. Upon realizing that she had been thrown into the river, all of us were astonished.”

The man who alerted Huyen’s husband is Vu Van Tuan, of Hanoi’s Long Bien District. Tuan found Huyen’s motorbike abandoned on Co Linh Street in Thach Ban Ward, with the key to the vehicle still in place and a handbag hanging on the handlebars.

As previously reported, Huyen came to Cat Tuong beauty salon on Saturday morning, October 19, to have abdominal liposuction and breast lift surgery. After being anesthetized by three nurses, she underwent aesthetic operations performed by Dr Tuong from 12 pm until 4 pm. Thirty minutes after the surgery, Huyen had difficulty breathing and started foaming at the mouth. Dr Tuong gave her an injection and she appeared to recover. But at 5:45 pm, Tuyen’s body suddenly turned blue and her blood pressure could not be measured. Tuong put her on a respirator and gave her a cardiotonic but could not save her. Under Tuong’s instructions, Dao Quang Khanh, a security guard at his salon, left Huyen's scooter on Co Linh street, far away from his salon. The two men later carried Huyen’s body into Tuong’s car to Thanh Tri Bridge and threw it into the Hong River. After investigation, police arrested Tuong and Khanh yesterday morning, October 22.

The police are continuing their investigation of the case. At a press briefing held this morning by Bach Mai Hospital about the case, Do Doan Loi, a deputy director of the hospital, said the hospital's management has suspended Dr Tuong and set up a working team to coordinate with police in their investigation. 

(Updating)